Words on the streets this week with some comedy commentary to ease us back into proceedings. Although I think the above wall scrawl requires a more serious take. Am assuming it is a reference to the protest bill that recently sailed through the Commons and is about to be passed by the House of lords. If it goes through it will effectively make protest illegal in this country and propel us in a single bound away from a democracy and towards something much more sinister. 1984 might finally have arrived.
While a giant chunk of the population was banging on about their freedoms being taken away, incensed by a piece of cloth that covered your face and marching in the streets to demand their right to flout restrictions that were initiated to protect us, there was a genuine assault on our freedom being quietly passed through parliament. And yet strangely none of these ‘freedom fighters’ had a problem with that which is ironic, as once this bill gets ratified, they won’t be able to protest about perceived threats to their freedom because a real one would have taken away their right to.
It’s pretty scary shit and once again our complacency and apathy will be our downfall. To be fair we have been distracted by this endless pandemic but while we were consumed by it, the war on the virus was being used as a very effective smoke screen to re-shape our society into some ting a bit more Orwellian. #killthebill
p.s Thank you to everyone for all their warm messages welcoming me back. Very much appreciated. I feel like i just got out of solitary. It’s good to be back in the fold.
Ok, so let me get this straight…you are one of the Colston 4, you pulled down the statue, threw it in the canal, got arrested, went to court, got acquitted…and then had stickers made? A noble gesture turned into self-promotion, hmm, sounds like now.
Obviously it is highly possible that the person who made the stickers wasn’t involved but then that’s even stranger to lie and pretend it was you. And as you most likely weren’t spotted putting the stickers up how would you then get credit?
Something doesn’t add up. Maybe it’s just another post with an identity crisis. They’re everywhere..
Att: international readers: if this makes no sense and you are curious to what the fuck I am talking about please read this article here
Me and my camera are back on the streets of London. First thing I come across: a lamp post with an identity crisis. To be fair it was a bit creepy and not funny at all so maybe it’s right, who am I say? Would I hire it to entertain a group of kids? Probably not.
Normal service has been resumed! Apologies for the break. Hopefully your life was painfully incomplete without me…
p.s midday (U.K) will be the new post time as mornings are still proving a struggle…
Merry Holidays to y’all…I know it don’t feel super merry this year. More merry-lite instead of jolly jolly, more diet-merry than festive cheer but for those of us who are lucky enough we’re all still here. And that is much to be thankful for. If ever there was a year to appreciate what you have rather than what you don’t it is this one.
For my own part I am back from the dead and slowly re-introducing myself back into the land of the living where I am seriously hoping to become a permanent resident again. Please excuse my absence (I will at some point share all the gory details) but I have basically been down the very deep dark hole that is Long Covid for a ridiculously long time. I have just managed to claw my way out and am finally resurfacing, ironically just as everyone seems to be going back underground. I have returned to a world where the mood feels sombre to say the least but I am joyous. Compared to the hell I have been in this is paradise. Turns out the more shit your life becomes the happier you are when it isn’t. Who knew?
I’m not quite 100% better and not quite back to my previous self but I am back taking photos as you can see and my brain is working again enough to write so am hoping to resume some sort of service in the new year so see you in ’22!
Masks are a paradox as they are the only things I know that make people look both scary and scared. I have recently started photographing people in masks (after having mostly avoided) as the more normal they become in society the weirder it gets for me. Masks are worn at Halloween to freak people out so there is no way this constant sight is not having an effect on us all. It makes people feel unapproachable, almost hostile, and that can’t be a good thing. And once more for the record, I am not an an anti-masker, I understand their necessity but now, when I look at people wearing them, including myself, it is starting to disturb me.
I know we’re all just trying to get on with it as best we can, but I would really like for a return to a world when masks were only seen on October 31st or when being operated on (which you wouldn’t even actually see if you were under general anaesthetic..heckling my own reference there for some reason).
Funny story..I was recently asked by a potential client if I had any shots of people in masks so I had a root around in the vault and found some great shots from fancy dress parties, Comic Con and so forth and sent them off to them and they came back to me and said..no, that’s not the sort of mask we mean, we want the Covid kind. Oh! Right..of course. Soz. Gotcha. I was a lil bit embarrassed as I should have worked it out, being in the middle of a pandemic surrounded by people with face masks on everywhere I went. And yet, in spite of all we have witnessed this last year, in my head, masks are still for cosplay not for virus protection. Umm, was that a funny story? Ish I guess. Best I got right now.
I don’t really know why I all of a sudden feel I am freaked out by people in masks, I should have got used to it by now, but I can’t quite shake it. I think it’s seeing all these startled eyes peering out from underneath going..is it over yet? Is it safe to come out? Truth is the reality of the threat is way less relevant than people’s perception. For example they now know that it is microscopically unlikely that you can become infected whilst walking around in the open air and yet, from what I can see, mask wearing outdoors is actually on the up which shows how terrified people still are, regardless of the actual threat. Personally I just wanna see faces again and I’m sure, once that happens it will make everyone chill the fuck out as they won’t have to deal with the sight of hoards of Jason’s from Friday 13th staggering towards them everyday…won’t that be pleasant?
P.s I will not be posting anything next week as have to do maintenance on my website..normal service will resume the week after 🤞
Just some randomness this week that I stumbled upon during my foot fuelled excursions…I did write a post about how I was focussing on the small things because the big things are just too umm big to deal with which then evolved into this whole observation about how we all magnify the miniscule and microfy the massive in order to function. (I know, microfy isn’t a word but just run with it yeah?) Anyway, it eventually led to some dark realisations so have shelved for now as still trying to stay on the hope tip from last week…and also thought you might appreciate just one week when I wasn’t wanging on about whatever…
So instead here are a few more photos of beautiful chaos in all its glory unladen by a depressing diatribe which I will save for a rainier day..
Ok, so the person that lives here either works in clubland and is missing it so much they have turned the entrance to their home to look like a venue in which case we should pity them…or….they’re just a dick with catastrophic delusions of grandeur…in which case we should also pity them.
